New Brand Identity for Garfield Construction

My latest client project just wrapped up and I couldn't be more proud of the work that resulted from our collaboration.

I had the honor of working with a bespoke craft carpenter who focuses on using old school tools like hand planes to achieve meticulously designed work.

Nathan’s attention to detail, commitment and integrity made him a dream client to work with. He’s currently in the middle of a multi-million dollar project, the outcome of which will have his hand crafted work built into most of the wooden elements within the home.

One might think he’d be just fine resting on his laurels when it comes to his brand and design but that would be how an average business would do things. Not how a creative entrepreneur like Nathan - and perhaps you as well - does things!

People dedicated to their craft and long-term success of their business tend to think a bit differently than the average Joe.

Nathan has bigger dreams for his business, so while his schedule is full with work for the foreseeable future, he took the time to think about how best to help his business move forward into the future.

He thought about the way he wants his business remembered and the type of work he wants to attract. And he knew that what would make the biggest impact was to develop an identity that made it easy for potential clients to recognize the high quality and bespoke nature of his work.

We were able to develop a logo and brand identity for Garfield Construction that both distinctly appeals to Nathan’s ideal clients and communicates deftly the artisanship he has become known for.

Let’s take a look!

Based on Nathan’s Pinterest board, his brand questionnaire answers and our conversation, we were aiming to develop a simple, clean, minimal, classic and hand-crafted look.

After getting sign off on his inspiration board, work promptly began on his logo concepts.

Logo Concepts

Concept 1

The negative space bear logo was the winner (both our favorites) and we went through several rounds of revisions in order to get the two elements that make up the negative space logo – the bear and the hand plan tool – just right.

Below is a sneak peak into the anatomy of the logo mark. You can see the initial bear and plane tool element illustrations I created to start the logo from. And then how each morphed into simpler, smoother, shapes that work together in order to create the negative spaces within the mark.

Not everyone will immediately understand that the element reversing out of the bear’s legs is a hand plane tool and that’s okay. Nathan’s ideal clients will see it and that’s what matters most. In fact, Nathan has become known for his use of hand tools while at job sites and that’s something that definitely separates him from his competition.

Concept 2

The most modern of the three and the most complex. This option was Nathan’s second favorite as he appreciated the combination of multiple carpentry related elements.

Concept 3

The most conservative option but the hammer felt wrong. It wasn’t specific enough to his finish detail work.

Secondary Logos and Submarks

Once the logo was selected and finalized, I moved on to creating logo variations and marks.

After the secondary logos were sorted out, we moved on to collateral.

Collateral

To bring the whole brand identity together, I created the brand style guide. It brings all the elements together in one place for future reference anytime an additional design related item needs to be created. It will come in particularly handy as we work on his full website.

Squarespace Website

That last piece in the process is a Squarespace website. Currently we’ve got a landing page up while the website is under construction.

I’m beyond happy with how Garfield Construction’s brand turned out and thoroughly enjoyed working with Nathan.

Want to work together? Curious about my process? Download your Getting Started Guide to learn more about working with me including service details, my process and book your free 30 minute consultation!